Artificial limb.



vwoi I -H. w. KAHN. ARTIFICIAL LIMB. KFPLICATION FFLED JUNE 30,-l9l7.

1,258, 908. Patented Mar. 12, 1918.

wnnzssgs nanny w. KABN, or rrr'rsnunen, rmmsynvmu.

ARTIFICIAL rm.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I,-HARRYW-'KABN,

citizen of the, United States, at

Pittsburgh, in thecounty of Alleghen and State of Pennsylvania, have invent ,-cer--- tain new and useful Improvements jlIl'Al'tlficial Limbs, of which the following'is a specification.

This invention refers to improvements 1n artificial limbs, more especially an artificial articulated leg, consisting of an. upper thigh portion adapted'to form a recelvin connecting receptacle for the stump of t e human leg, and having slower portion pivotally connected toturn at the knee joint.

The improvement consists in mechanism by which the. lower limb member may be operated on its'pivot by the user, and the invention is constructed and adapted to. .o crate in the manner more fully hereina ter described.

Referring to the drawings Figure 1 is a general view in elevation showing thedevice asa plied to the body.

Fig. 2 is an. enlarge view showing the compound leg member detachedfrom the body.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged erspective view of the operating lever mec anlsm.

The artificial leg members A, B, are of generally usual construction, made of wood or other suitable light strong material, the member A havin at its upper ortion a t closel ina ter described.

The lower member B is pivotally connected by bolt 2 with the u in a well-known manner w ereb members are articulated to provi e the knee joint. --The lower outer front portion of 'the upper member A, is rounded as indicated at 3 and fits neatly within theupper "front edge portion 4 of the member B, providing fora small overlapping extension of each member at varying posltions.

Anoperating lever member 5- is mounted on the pivot 2 and comprises a'downwardly extending portion 6 and a forwardly extendin portion 7 extending from the upper end 0 the portion 6 and at substant ally rightangles thereto. The downwardly extending portion is secured tothe leg or lower member B by a sleeve or eye 8. The

und'er'side of the portion vertical sectional element's, hereper membe'r A the two the other, I utilize inde endent suspender 20, respectively,- adapted to pass over the left and right 100 shoulder respectivelyI of the wearer, as

upper limb ,mem

. spec-mention m u -a- Patented Mar. 12, 1918. Application filed June so,- 19'", Serial Io. naoso.

of the lever 5 13 provided wlth a lateral slot 8 adjacent its forward end and a sprin retainin member 9 is mounted adjacent t 1e slot an extends over the said slot to normally close the same; I

A U-shaped member 10 is mounted within the slot .8 and has its free ends bent forming hooks 11 which are adapted to receive stra members 12, which pass outwardly throug apertures 13 in the ortion A of the limb and are provided adiacent their free ends with sheave pulleys 14 provided with guards 15. The straps 12 it will be noted do not bear on any surface of the limb and therefore do not create friction.

I provide two such straps 12 each of which is connected to one of the hooks 11 formed on the member 10, so that when the cords 12 are relaxed the member B may fall to'a vertical position as indicated in Fig. 2. When the cords 7, are drawn upwardly the lever member 5 will be rocked upon its pivot 2' and the member B may be erected or raised into longitudinal alinement with member A.

For the purpose ofconnecting straps 12 and their associated mechanism with shoulder-actuated operative mechanism, I use 'a pair of cords lfi, each of which is provided at the front with av rin or other suitable connecting device 17, an at theback with a similar ring or connecting device 18. Cords 16, being continuous from each such ring 17 to the other ring 18, are ,thus free to engage with varying degrees of tension the sheaves 10 and to exert a pulling action on one or the other of the "straps 12 independently.

For the purpose of transmitting independent actlve tension to one strap-12 or straps or braces 19 an shown in Fig. 1 and jrovided with suitable buckles 21 or other means for taking u slack. Each cord 16 his preferabl d retaining 100 23 at'the hate u per-portion of the main r so as toretain the cordsin operative position on the outer portion of the limb at the front and back.

. Passe through a 'suitable keeper or gui ing and dev1ce22 at the front and V The construction and operationof the device willbe readily understood from the vention, it will be understood that I do not wish to be' limited thereto, since various changes in design, and structural details may be made within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of my invention.

What I claim is:

l. The combination of a thigh and a leg section pivotally connected together,'a kneebolt extending through said thigh and leg sections at said pivotal connection, a bell crank lever mounted on said bolt, said lever extending from the thigh ortion into the leg portion, a sleeve secure to the legsection and engaging said lever, the upper portion of said lever having a recess therein adapted to receive a substantially U-shaped member, said U-shaped member having its free ends bent to form retainin books, a

strap engagingeac'h of said hoo s and extending upwardl3 within the thigh member and through apertures to the outside thereof and provided with a terminal sheave wheel, and means engaging said sheaves adapted to rock said lever and movesaid leg section upon its knee pivot.

The combination of a thigh and a leg section pivotally connected together, a kneebolt extending through said thigh and leg sections at said pivotal connection, a bell crank lever mounted on said bolt, said lever free ends bent to extending from the thigh portion into the leg portion, a sleeve secured to the leg-section and engaging said lever, the upper portion of saidlever having a recess therein adapted to receive asubstantially U-shaped member said U-sha ed member having its "firm retaining hooks, a spring retaining ember mounted on said lever and normall1 closing the opening to said recess to lock said U-shaped member in position, and means iconnected to said U- shaped member adapted to rock said lever and move said leg section upon its knee pivot.

comprising a thigh member, a lower leg member, a knee pivot passing through said members, a bell crank lever member mounted on said pivot having a recess in the under side of its upper arm, a. substantially U- shaped member engaging said recess, said U-shaped member having its free ends bent to form hooks, and means engaging said hooks for rocking said lever member and said lower leg member.

4. In combination with an artificial limb of the class described having a thigh member, a lower leg member, and a knee bolt passing through said members; a bell crank free end bent to form hooks, means for retaining said U-shaped member in said'recess, and means connected to said hooks adapted to actuate said lever and said lower,

leg member;

In testimony whereof I hereunto afli;

signature.

HARRY w. KARN.

a. An artificial new of the class described 

